SUNKEN, OLD DREDGE TIED UP IN COURT

The historic, former Corps of Engineers Dredge Ste. Genevieve is resting on the bottom of the Mississippi River for the second time in less than three years.

This time it's on the bottom of the river at a Cape Girardeau shipyard while a legal battle continues to determine the fate of the former steam-powered paddle-wheel vessel.

A non-profit educational firm that received the dredge from the federal government wants to turn the former dredge into a floating river museum and educational center based in Florida.

The "Genny," as she was called by the men who worked aboard her for more than a half century, was a cutterhead dredge built in 1932 by Dravo Corp. at Neville Island in the Ohio River at Pittsburgh. The boat was named after the Missouri city on the Mississippi River.

The corps used the Ste. Genevieve for 52 years to dredge the navigation channels of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers clear of sediment so barge tows could safely navigate.

The 267-foot stern-wheeler accommodated as many as 17 officers and 44 crewmen. Its home port was St. Louis.

The Ste. Genevieve, which was the last steam-powered, stern-wheel, cutterhead dredge to be operated by the corps, was retired by the corps in 1984. After its retirement, the Ste. Genevieve spent several years in Davenport, Iowa, where there was a plan to develop it into a museum. It never happened.

In November 1992, the General Services Administration donated the Ste. Genevieve to the Marine Learning Institute.

According to an institute brochure, the non-profit organization is dedicated to the design, development and distribution of educational aquatic materials to promote an understanding and appreciation of the significance of particular bodies of water and the natural resources within those waters. The institute has offices in Missouri and Maryland.

The institute wanted to turn the boat into a floating museum and educational center, and permanently dock the vessel on the banks of the Missouri River at St. Charles.

When that plan didn't pan out, the institute suggested putting the center at the corps' environmental demonstration area on the Mississippi at a former marina at West Alton, Ill. But that plan also fell through.

While the institute was trying to find a permanent home for the dredge, they received an invitation from the city of Cincinnati to bring the dredge to its Tall Stacks '92 festival on the Ohio River. The institute signed a contract with Tall Stacks, and the Ste. Genevieve was placed in a barge tow and towed downstream to a fleeting area below Cairo, Ill., to wait for a ride up the Ohio to Cincinnati.

While it was in the fleeting area near Wickliffe, Ky., the Ste. Genevieve sank on Oct. 1, 1992. After spending 31 days on the river bottom, it was finally raised and emergency repairs made to its hull. It was then towed to Missouri Dry Dock and Repair Service at Cape Girardeau for permanent repairs. After the repairs were made, the boat was put back in the water in 1993. It sank in March while docked at the shipyard.

Richard Wooten, spokesman for the Marine Learning Institute, said that when the Ste. Genevieve sank the first time it was in the care and responsibility of Tall Stacks while en route to Cincinnati.

The institute claims that an Ohio River Co. fleet tug negligently damaged the Ste. Genevieve while it was being moved from the lower to the upper end of its fleet near Wickliffe. The company was under contract with Tall Stacks to tow the dredge to Cincinnati. The company denies responsibility for damage to the dredge.

The institute filed a lawsuit against Tall Stacks, the fleeting company, and the insurance carrier to determine who pays for the damage and repairs to the boat when it sank. That suit is still pending before a federal district court judge.

After the Ste. Genevieve was raised in October 1992, it was towed to Missouri Dry Dock and Repair in Cape Girardeau. After a two-month delay, repairs were finally made to its hull in 1993, but the shipyard placed a lien on the boat because Marine Learning Institute didn't have the money to pay for the repairs. Wooten said the institute cannot pay for the repairs until its lawsuit with Tall Stacks and the fleeting company is resolved.

The repaired dredge was put back in the water and remained docked at the Cape Girardeau shipyard -- under a lien -- while the legal wrangling over who would pay for the repairs continued through the rest of 1993 and early 1994.

During that period, Wooten said the shipyard was charging the institute $2,500 per day to dock the boat at the shipyard, a sum that Wooten contends is far above what most shipyards would charge.

Then, on March 10, for reasons unknown, the Ste. Genevieve sank at the shipyard.

Right now, only the dredge's pilot house, twin smoke stacks and spud (mooring) beams, and the top of her Texas deck are above water. As the river continues to fall more of the boat's superstructure will become visible.

Wooten said the institute believes Missouri Dry Dock is responsible for raising the vessel and bearing the expense since the boat was in the shipyard's care and was being held under a repair lien when it sank earlier this year. According to Wooten, the shipyard has two insurance policies on the Ste. Genevieve.

Wooten said Missouri Dry Dock owner, Rob Erlbacher, told him that he wants to cut the dredge up for scrap to get it out of the way. But Wooten said that will never happen if he has anything to say about it.

"When we took possession of the boat in 1990, the vessel had an appraised value of $600,000," said Wooten. "Since that time, we have put more money and effort into the boat. We estimate the boat is now worth $775,000.

"In addition, several groups, including the Navy Museum, the Missouri Division of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and the Preservation of Historical Sites in Washington have all expressed support in our project and interest in preserving the Dredge Ste. Genevieve.

"After the Genny is raised, we intend to take her to Fort Meyers, Fla., where the Ford Foundation and the Edison Foundation have placed $500,000 in their budget for a permanent berthing area for the vessel as a museum and educational center."

Erlbacher refused to discuss in detail the Ste. Genevieve, other than to say he is owed money for repairs made to the boat. Erlbacher said: "I want to see the boat removed regardless of what it takes to do it. We need to get it out of here."

Wooten said Erlbacher will be paid if the federal judge assigned to hear the lawsuit renders a decision in favor of the Marine Learning Institute.

Wooten said there are only three companies with the experience and necessary marine equipment to raise the Ste. Genevieve. They are in St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans. All three have submitted bids for raising the vessel.

Last week a representative of one of the firms, Bisso Marine of New Orleans, La., was in Cape Girardeau to inspect the sunken vessel. Wooten said: "After examining the boat, Capt. W.A. Bisso submitted his bid to Missouri Dry Dock's attorney. The ball is in their court now. It's up to them to decide what happens now. We expect them to do what is right."

Wooten said Bisso told him lifting the Ste. Genevieve will be a long and tedious job, but he said Bisso has assured him it can be done with minimal damage to the boat.

Wooten said: "He said one of the first things that needs to be done is to get a diver down there to find out what caused the boat to sink in the first place. Before they bring her up, they want to pump out a lot of the sediment that has accumulated in the hull. That will make it lighter. They plan to place plastic cradles, or slings, under sections of the hull and attach them to cables of two heavy duty A-frame cranes that are mounted on two barges.

"It's really a fairly simple operation; it just takes a lot of time because it has to be done very slowly."

Wooten said how soon the Ste. Genevieve is brought to the surface will depend on the shipyard.